Small victories are still victories.A couple of nights ago I walked to a friend's house for dinner, about a mile away, maybe less. The dinner was attended by other guests who had also walked. On the way home, we decided to take a short-cut that involved making our way through a little neighborhood set into the side of a hill. We went up flight after flight of stairs to get to the top of the hill. The stairs weren't steep for the most part, but they were many!
When we reached the top, the woman who does the stair-climber every day at the gym was in the lead and was no more winded than if she'd been wandering the aisles at Target. The woman who has recently lost a bunch of weight and is working to get in better shape was completely winded and breathing heavily right behind me. In the middle of the two, I noticed with surprise that my heart-rate was very slightly elevated--as if I'd done a quick walk to the mailbox and back--but I was neither winded nor breathing heavily, and I completely recovered within a few paces of the top.
Interesting.
I had fully expected to be huffing and puffing just like my friend, heart pounding in my chest from exertion. Not so. It's nice to see myself becoming fitter.